The present invention is directed to improvements in article handling apparatus employed to assemble a multilayer stack of articles in which the layers of the stack are made up of several individual articles arranged in a generally rectangular pattern. Davies et al U.S. Pat. No. 3,294,257 is a prior art patent disclosing a machine of the type with which the present invention is concerned, namely one in which a layer of articles is formed on a transfer plate, after which the plate is elevated to the necessary height and advanced into overlying relationship with the uppermost layer then in the stack being assembled. Upon subsequent retraction of the plate, the layer of articles is stripped from the plate and deposited upon the top of the stack.
The present invention is especially directed to improvements over machines of the type disclosed in the above referred to U.S. Pat. No. 3,294,257; specifically in improvements relating to the structure of the elevating mechanism and gate employed in stripping the layers from the transfer plate, as well as improvements in the method of operation.